ViaSat downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan

JPMorgan downgraded ViaSat to Neutral from Overweight with a price target of $15, down from $29, following last week’s news that United Airlines (UAL) will shift 1,000-plus mainline aircraft from existing in-flight connectivity providers to Starlink. While United will only begin trialing Starlink service next year, JPMorgan assumes Viasat will lose its direct service aircraft as well as live TV and Thales aircraft where the company provides satellite capacity, the analyst tells investors in a research note. It estimates the direct impact to Viasat is roughly $60M-$80M of revenue and expects the competitive overhang on shares “to be difficult to dispel after last week’s announcement.”